This is opera...isn't it?

I came to this blog entry by way of thinking about transcriptions of music from one to another instrument(s). Some of my favorite clips on YouTube are animations made to accompany selections from various operas. One YouTube poster in particular (someone calling themselves mihmoh) has put up a range of very nice animations. I pick two, the first because it is my favorite for several reasons: 1) because it captures the essence of the aria (a duet, actually) so perfectly; 2) because the animation effects are marvelous, in my non-expert opinion, anyway; and 3) because the music is so evocative and sensuous. The Flower Duet from Delibes' Lakmé is still one of the loveliest selections of opera despite the trivialization of being used in so many commercials over the years. The second animation, La donna é mobile from Verdi's Rigoletto, is just plain fun. And both videos offer some interesting opportunities for contrasting with other performances of the same selection, which is where the idea of "transcriptions" enters into the picture, so to speak. I doubt I could find all variations if I spent months searching YouTube or similar locations, but there is a rock group called the East Village Opera Company (EVOC) that specializes in rock arrangements of opera, and, wouldn't you just know, they too have arrangements of the Delibes and the Verdi.

First the animation accompanied by the traditional duet as Delibes wrote it:



And here is what EVOC did with Delibes; different, but still nice, in my opinion.



Now Verdi in animation--you should recognize almost all the females that slide through this Count's thoughts; they all come from sundry famous paintings.



And now what EVOC does to La donna é mobile. It is a very different feel, but I like different.



One more, not an animation this time, but one for comparison's sake. Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turandot (one of the few Puccini operas with a happy ending) was made wildly popular in recent history first by Pavarotti himself, and then again as part of his participation in The Three Tenors performances. Nothing against Pavarotti, but I rather like Andrea Bocelli.



EVOC also has an arrangement of Nessun Dorma, but here is a different rock group, Manowar, performing the same Nessun Dorma. I wonder what Puccini would have thought. I like it.

The Swingle Singers, Old and New

Once upon a time in France...1962 to be precise...the Swingle Singers formed for the first time. They styled themselves a jazz vocal group and became well-known for their transcriptions of the music of Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, and Mozart into a vocal sound unique to the Swingle Singers. They sounded like this:

After several popular albums and numerous Grammy Awards and Nominations throughout the 60s, the original group disbanded in 1973 and re-formed in London where they have been going strong ever since. I enjoy both groups (the original and its successor) but I particularly like that the succesor, Swingle II as they were initially called, though now they are just the Swingle Singers again, branches out to cover a wider range of music. Even so, they retain that characteristic "Swingle" sound. Some of my favorites Swingle music: